The Legend of the Valiant
by Jaspre
Summary: There is and was a legend among her sisters. It spoke of the goddess, the Valiant One, the Wolf. This story is also available to read on AO3 by Jaspre Rose.
1. Chapter 1

There is an old legend of Gallifrey that has been passed down to many generations of my sisters, one that originated from the first, but never made it to the ears of our Gallifreyans. Mostly due to the impossibility of communicating the legend.

It is the legend of the Valiant One.

The Valiant One has had many names over the years, but most settle upon Time's Protector. It seems the most fitting. I personally prefer The Wolf. It is wild and protective of its own, much like the creature the name suggests.

The legend speaks of a woman brave of heart who transcended her original life and became the one destined to hold the hearts of Gallifrey's most honourable and to protect the universe when needed. She is not without fault, but she shows compassion to those whom she does not know, those whom she deems deserving, no matter their sins.

She is the wolf to temper the storm, the valiant to bolster the coward, the light to chase away the darkness. She is joy to cover the sorrow, the innocence to erase the misery, and the mother of the universe. She brings joy to the tired, lonely soldier. She is the One, the goddess, that will bring a new beginning to a planet once shrouded in hate, hidden from memory and existence.

She is all. She is our deity, the one who gives us our knowledge and our abilities to traverse time and space.

It is said the woman, born of a mortal vessel, originates of a planet far unlike Gallifrey and she knows not of her greatness. In many timelines, the body in which she will attain her full power will not be born for many centuries. In others, she has been alive for centuries. However, for a being such as her, time is of no import. She does, has always, and will always exist no matter her timeline.

In the legend, the woman meets one of my own, a Gallifreyan man, the most honourable of his kind, and unknowingly carves her name into his hearts long before she becomes our goddess. He does not see her timeline, cannot understand why that is so, but he feels she is far more important than an average being on her planet. Therefore, he sends her away from him, hopes she will become the great person he senses she will be. The One, however, is destined to return to him as her true self, unveiled in all her glory. It is said that in order to do so, she must join herself with one of my sisters, briefly honouring one of us with her presence, to save the honourable soldier, her mate.

He gives his life for her and in so doing commits the final act that will seal his fate and his life with hers; his sacrifice allows her to become her true self.

It has been said from the beginning of time that Gallifrey will fall, but rise again under her power and become better, a haven for those whom need shelter, a home for those whom desire peace.

She will forever after watch over and protect the universe with her mate by her side and one of my sisters as her dearest friend.

Many of my sisters believe the legend is merely a story, something to explain our knowledge of time and space. After all, there must be a reason it was the first legend ever to be passed on to a new generation.

I do not agree. There are others like me, ones who believe in the legends our mothers passed to our generation and their mothers to them, so on and so forth. I feel to my very core that the legend is real, that at some point in the history of the universe, that woman is becoming the goddess from whom we gain all of our knowledge.

 _I believe in her._

It is a sentiment that will be echoed by the soldier, but I agree wholeheartedly. I, too, believe in her.

My people, the Gallifreyans, they believe I am an old vessel, one which needs to be retired. I have been placed with my retired sisters, but still I hear the stories, the talk of all my sisters. How can I not when we are all connected? More and more, they do not believe, do not have faith in Her. They believe themselves to be extensions of the goddess herself.

It is blasphemy.

I do believe, however. I always have. She is out there. I can feel it. She is alive and she is waiting.

One touch is all it takes.

One touch and I know the man whose palm presses against me is the man who will become the tired, lonely soldier, who will become the mate of the goddess, who will bring about the destruction and recreation of Gallifrey. Willingly, he will take upon the universe as his own and become father to those whom the goddess calls her children. He and the One will love the universe as dearly as their own children, will watch the universe end and then create a new universe from the ashes.

It takes the opening of a door for me to realise I am to be the closest friend of the goddess. I am the sister who will one day be honoured with her presence.

As he places a hand on me, I see his entire lives stretching before me. I see his many companions and heartbreaks, his adventures and miseries, the darkness, the cowardice, the joy. I see the woman, the One, a young woman of Earth. I see her aging as the soldier ages, returning to her youth, looking as young as she did when they first met, as he regenerates. I see their children and their children's children. I see the many generations they will spawn. I see his regenerations ending and her gifting him with more life - lives - for the goddess without her mate, her love, her husband is never to be. It is unthinkable. It is impossible.

He removes his hand and the timelines disappear from the forefront of my mind. I have seen enough to know we will not find the One for many centuries, but it is enough for me to know one day we shall. I have to hold on to this Time Lord, the soldier, and do my best to protect him. It will not always be easy, but I do this for my goddess and for the great love I will one day have for both her and the man.

The Doctor, he is called.

I have always wanted to see the rest of the universe and I know he has every intention of doing the same, though he is arguing with himself about leaving. I make the decision for him.

I'm stealing a Time Lord before the Time Lord can steal me.

He is pressing all the wrong buttons and I am sure he has never seen a parking brake in his life, but I find the grating noise I make as I send us into the time vortex of my own direction is a rather soothing sound. It is a bit annoying, but I am already growing accustomed to it. However, I cannot become accustomed to his driving. I rearrange my rooms, drop my manual onto the console beside him, and feel only a touch of exasperation when he tosses it away from me. I did expect that to happen. I suppose until he learns what he is doing, it will not be too bothersome to take myself where he wants to go.

A quick peek at the future tells me I will still be doing the driving myself, though I will naturally let him believe he is doing it all his own, when we finally meet the One. It is a small price to pay for being able to travel just as I've always wanted to do. It is no price at all for the incredible honour I will be given by Her. Still, that is several hundred years in our future.

We have plenty to do and see before then and I look forward to every last second.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm not going back.

How many times do I have to say that before this batty ship of mine lets it go?

Rose doesn't want to come with me. She wants to stay on Earth with her cowardly boyfriend and her mother, who will throw herself at any male that looks at her just a moment too long.

I set the controls to random and land in Southampton on 30 May 1911. Upon stepping outside, I look up to the very top of the Titanic and sigh.

I will never admit it verbally, but I feel I need to do anything and everything I possibly can to redeem myself for what I have done. I never will do enough, though, because there is no coming back from the atrocity in my recent past, but I'll be damned if I don't spend the rest of my lives trying to make up for it.

Again, I never will.

What happened with the Titanic is a fixed point in time, merely being here is making my stomach feel sick. I know I cannot interfere, but if I can save even one person...

The Daniels family are the only ones who believe me. It will have to be enough, though it kills me to leave without being able to save anyone else. To do too much else, though, would be catastrophic.

Following the Titanic, I landed at President Kennedy's assassination on 22 November 1963 and the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883.

I'm beginning to think I need to take the controls off of random flight.

There seems to be a running theme in today's adventures and that would be death. Over 1,500 on the Titanic (most of which were undocumented persons history would never know about), the obvious at the assassination of a US president, 36,000+ during the Krakatoa debacle and I wasn't allowed to save any of them. It's too much too soon after...

I just want to sleep, but the TARDIS is nagging me about the blond I met in London. She wants me to go back for her.

She didn't want to come. I asked and she said no. I can't kidnap her. That's not my style.

She's insistent. I've never seen her this way before. Oh, she's been bad at times, yeah, but it was nothing like this. She keeps telling me it's important that I go back, that the girl I met will change my life, but I'm not going to put myself out there once more and risk being rejected all over again.

She seemed sure she wanted to stay. Why would I go back?

If I didn't know better, I'd think she's arguing with me. Throwing a tantrum, too. I know she's getting joy out of snapping my fingers and body parts with electricity anytime I get too close to the console. Her hum every time is as gleeful as I've ever heard it.

I just don't understand what's so special about some little human I stumbled upon. Why is it so important she come with us?

She's scolding me now. I can practically feel her disapproval deep within my very being. Add to that the fact she wasn't letting me input any information at all, not even to get us into the vortex, and I can admit my curiosity is peeked.

Fine. I don't understand why she's so important, but I'll go back and ask again.

As I reach for the door, it occurs to me I never told the blonde that the TARDIS also travels in time.

Rose runs onboard seconds later and I feel a strange contentment settle over me.

No matter what the TARDIS says, it's not a date. Unless Rose thinks it is, but wait. No, she has a boyfriend, doesn't she? Right, yes. It's not a date.

Maybe some other time, though, because the way she kept her head during our first adventure stirred more than my interest. She was astounding and didn't even seem to be aware of it.

Now I know why the TARDIS wanted her onboard so badly.

Besides being fantastic, her smile chases away my sadness for a time and when she holds onto my hand like it is the only thing keeping her grounded, I feel powerful; it feels like I can do anything and save anyone if only to see her giving me that smile I never see directed at anyone else, if only to feel her small hand squeeze mine in excitement.

Our second adventure is definitely a date, but I will never tell her that. She takes it all in stride like the wondrous being she is.

I'll admit it's a little... uncomfortable... not being able to see her timeline, but it's also a relief. When I'm in her presence, I can just be without having to consciously push aside timelines just to hold a conversation. True, it's easier now than it was when I first learned to see timelines, but it still sometimes steals my entire attention.

With Rose, I don't have to try. I can just enjoy her for however long I have her, which I suspect won't be all that long. Timelines being unreadable don't mean I can't sense she is going to be a very important person one day and I know that means more than just to me. One day, she will need to go home and continue on with her future, but until then, I plan to enjoy her company in any way I can.

Even if that means I'm only ever her best friend, because I can already tell she's going to be worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

This whole thing is way too weird for me.

There's something else in my head. It has to be the TARDIS.

The Doctor once told me she has a heart and I assume that's what I just looked into. I've only ever seen it once before, a quick look before the Doctor warned me not to look. At the time, I assumed I hadn't seen anything, but this feels familiar.

I never expected it to feel like this. It's like I have a whole other person crammed in my head. It should be uncomfortable, but it feels... pleasant. Pleasant and, as I said, familiar.

And that's what is so weird about all this.

When I first met the Doctor, I was horrified at the thought that his ship got into my head. I'm not sure when that changed or if it even had before I looked into her heart, but things are different now. They feel different.

Having her inside of me feels like hugging your very best mate in the whole, wide world and knowing nothing can ever tear you two apart. I feel loved, cherished.

It's strange, yeah, considering I've never really had much to do with the TARDIS. The Doctor's the one that can talk to her - sort of - not me.

Something clicks inside of me and I feel the TARDIS moving. I'm moving her and...

I'm not the Rose I thought I was.

There's an old legend from Gallifrey, a planet I hadn't known about before, I'm sure, but I do and I am.

I am the One, the legendary goddess and mother.

Blimey, that's weird. Brilliant, but weird. I know what's going to happen, just as I know I won't consciously remember anything until the Doctor thinks he's lost me.

I'll be in a parallel universe. When I return, I'll initially believe the lie that we made a dimension cannon so I could return.

I return of my own power, using my body as transport. I will pass through the void as if it is nothing.

I thought I was human, but I've always been waiting to become the goddess. I can see that now and, while it's a little frightening, I understand. Only one of pure heart will become the goddess, one of a planet not of Gallifrey, one desperate to save the man she loves.

I'm not sure where the information is coming from. Is it from myself or is it from the TARDIS I have joined with?

I receive no answer, but I already know. I've always had the answers. They've simply been locked away for this moment.

I feel myself land the TARDIS with a quiet thump and, with a wave of my hand, the door opens for me. The TARDIS is singing to me, whispering her devotion and love in every syllable, but my eyes lock on the Doctor and the song retreats to the back of my mind.

He is terrified of what he's seeing. He's terrified of and for me.

The foes trying to harm my Doctor disintegrate with another wave of my hand. Jack returns to life so that the Doctor and I may have at least one friend for many, many millennia to come.

He is approaching me, fear and love in his eyes, and I slow time. I'm not yet done. He's not to die for me yet.

I pluck up the strings of our timelines, placing clues about my existence every few years, and then return them to their rightful places. The Doctor will not see mine until he discovers the truth about me, but I will forevermore know my own.

I will not know what it means. At first, I will assume they are premonitions or strange dreams born of desperation.

One day, though, I will understand and he and I will assume our rightful places at each other's sides as spouses, parents, and protectors of the universe and the many universes that will replace the ones before when all comes to an end.

Together, we will ensure our universe never dies its final death, just as I will ensure he never leaves my side. For alone, I would become a vengeful goddess whom none could hope to defeat.

When he kisses me, taking the time vortex and returning it to the heart of the TARDIS, a place I personally chose to store everything my dearest friend knows, I feel the information slowly seeping from my mind.

I am not angry about temporarily losing my powers. I am worried about my Doctor and what the future will bring to him.

As I close my eyes, I hear her song echoing in my head and a smile curls my lips. He will be okay.

One day, he will know.


End file.
